Monochrome Memories
by Hokannko
Summary: Everyone claims to know what happened in the past: Angels and Demons were enemies; time and time again, the world was destroyed and recreated, before they finally coexisted. But no one knows why all of that happened. [Etihw x Kcalb, with slight Wodahs x Grora, among others. Rating/Genre may change.]
1. PROLOGUE

_How long will this life go on?_

_How long will this pain go on?_

_How long will this world go on?_

The war continued to rage on in the Garden. Everyone fought their all. They didn't have any particular reason why. The only thing that existed in everyone's mind at the moment was nothing but sheer hate and destruction.

Such a sight made her frown.

_Wherever did that 'peace' go now...?_

* * *

_I just wanted it to end._

_This life, this pain, this world, everything._

_Everything. **Everything**…_

_... ... It... didn't have to come to this conclusion, did it?_ He thought, taking a sorrowful glance at the one whom he had mentioned. As much as he didn't want to, he had to fight her... whether he liked it or not.

And... He has to use it. That one spell. He has to use it on her. **Her**, of all people.

* * *

_Because…Because he…doesn't love me…_

_but her…_

_Yes. He went to **that** person, instead of me_, she thought, anger forming in her mind. Surely this was all his fault; she never wanted to hurt him like this, never in her dreams, but... he did.

Or did he?

_Hey... You..._

* * *

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry. **I'm sorry…**_

That was all that went in his mind at that moment. Those two little words, no matter how much wanted to tell her that, it was all too late. And there was no guarantee that she would accept it, even.

_Would you still believe me if I say those words? I wonder..._ he thought, and for a split second... a sad smile appeared on his face.

* * *

_There's no going back this late…_

_Betray her…Betray the world, too._

"Tell me... ... ... why did you do this to me? And to the Garden, no less?" she asked him, her voice strict, but only on the outside; in the inside, she felt as though she wanted to break down, to scream, or to simply cry.

The receiver of those words, however, chose to say nothing. Instead, he continued to attack her as much as he could. Of course, she didn't know, despite being a God; after all, he had to keep silent. Whether he liked it or not.

* * *

_But…I've done what I could, you see?_

_Though it was to no avail._

That was it. He was at his limit. He'd had enough of all this destruction, all the pain, all these negative thoughts running in his mind.

And with that, he made the ultimate decision.

_…I'm sorry._

_**…Goodbye**._

And with a flash, everything went black.


	2. Current State of Affairs

_Let's rewind a little bit… so that we may all know how it came to this…_

* * *

**I  
-Current State of Affairs-**

There was a universe, where many unique worlds existed. Some of them were small, some of them were vast, and the rest were either unnoticed or just average, as one would say. Each world had their own share of occupants, occupants which weren't exactly human.

Among all these, there was this one world that somehow stood out from the rest. A world where its residents lived in harmony and peace; a world where everyone got along as if there were no differences between themselves.

This world… is called the Gray Garden.

It was a world where its residents are divided into two groups, namely, the angels and the demons. While it's true that they really contradict each other in this sense, it is actually something that would be completely ignored by everyone pretty soon enough.

**Soon.**

* * *

The Gray Garden has a vast amount of territory. Within it are dangerous forests, each having a unique characteristic that distinguished one forest from another. For instance, there is this one forest in which when you enter it, you will see nothing but the break of dawn spelled in the sky, however long you decide to stay there. There is also this forest which is known for housing an enormous cave; whatever lies within there, no one wished to know that.

But that wasn't all the Gray Garden has. Where did the residents stay? Of course they had a separate place of their own.

At the heart of the Garden lay what they called the Gray Village, a place where majority of the townsfolk stayed and led their lives in peace. It had everything a normal village would have: simple homes, shops and stores (lots of them, at that)—it even had a school and a huge library, should you take the correct pathway. Speaking of pathways, if one is to go further south, beyond the school, you are sure to encounter the coast, which is a good place to go to, should you want to have a taste of the sea and the air that came with it.

Now…

Going back to the village, its residents are pretty much as normal as normal can be. There they are, currently busy with their daily musings; it was quite a peaceful sight. In a lone park bench that lay near a small shop, you would see a demon that looks as though she would be able to fall asleep in a matter of seconds. Near a small library, you would be able to see an innocent angel talking about… ah, _never mind that_.

In another side of the town, there is a demon eating bugs as she watches another demon seemingly in an argument with an angel, and—

Wait, eating bugs? An argument?

"Seriously? A scary-looking demon like you has the hobby of… baking?" a blonde-haired angel asks, a hint of mockery in his words. "That, my friend, is extremely… **lame**."

"Hmm. Says an angel whose hobby is to take foolish 'adventures' and to look at things that shouldn't be looked at, who's lamer here, eh? A hypocrite, that's what you are," the demon in question retorted, rolling his eyes. "Pretty stupid if you ask me."

A pink-haired demon, wearing a puffy black dress and a pair of bat-like hair ties, has been watching them all this time. She decided to intervene. "Booooys… as much as I'd like to watch your little, dare I say, quarrel…" she began, as she munches on a fat caterpillar, "it would be better if you guys would stop now. Ciel wouldn't be the least bit happy about this, now, would she, eh, Lost?"

Hearing the name made Lost flinch, though this went a bit unnoticed. "The fuck? It's not like we're having a war or anything. Stop acting like Miss Goody-Two-Shoes… it doesn't suit you Cranber."

"He's right," the angel said, nodding in agreement for once.

"Besides… doesn't this happen to you as well when Rigatona questions your—if I may emphasize—_gross eating habits_, so…" he trailed off, taking a moment to smirk at her.

In response to this, Cranber's expression darkened, her attention focusing more on the angel than on Lost. With a seemingly innocent smile on her face, she replied, "My 'gross eating habits', as you called it, are none of your concern, Sherbet. Or… how about I exhibit that eating habit right now? Want me to take a bite off of you every chance I get? Or… oh, wait!" she exclaimed for a bit, her voice more high-pitched than usual.

A few moments after, her tone became slightly lower than before. "How about I bite off of you **NOW**?"

"Oh?" Sherbet says, his smirk getting wider by the second as he grips his box staff. "I'd like to see you try. Though… don't be so confident that I'd let you do it so easily, doll."

Hearing this, Cranber's smile becomes even wider, revealing her sharp teeth. As if on cue, her pigtails started thrashing about, revealing a series of spikes that hid underneath, then poised themselves, akin to a Venus fly trap. They seemed to be in a frenzy, which makes even Lost a bit scared of Cranber and sorry for Sherbet.

"Don't blame me if you end up being mutilated after this, boy," Cranber said eerily.

"Not gonna happen. And don't think I'd go easy on you just because you're a girl and a friend of mine," Sherbet replied smugly.

At this point, they were about to attack each other. Until…

"What the—?"

Those were the words that they both uttered the moment that a certain green flame suddenly went in their way. As soon as it disappeared, both turned their heads to the direction of where the flame came from.

"What is the meaning of this? What's going on here?"

Sherbet managed a small, nervous chuckle before speaking. "E-Eh—ah, hey there, Yosaf, dude—and I see you have Ciel with you, heheh—"

"Why, hello, Yosaflame~" Cranber says, her face going back to how it was in the first place before it all happened. "You see, your friend Sherbet here was—"

"Shut up! You're completely shifting the blame, you—"

"**Don't change the subject. What is going on here?**"

With much hesitation, the three of them turned to face Yosaflame.

Yosaflame was yet another demon who resided in the Gray Village. He had long, apple-green hair, and a face that always reeked of being stern. It didn't help that he always wore a black business suit, which made him look extremely formal. Like all demons, he had a pair of horns, but his was unique in design—while his left horn was completely plain, having nothing but color in it, his right horn had a blue wave-like pattern of some sort, which distinguished him from his fellow demons.

Behind Yosaflame was Ciel, an angel who rarely spoke to anyone. She seldom communicated with the others. No, it wasn't that, but rather, she communicated through looks and gestures than through words. She was clad in blue from head to toe: she had a blue flower-like hair tie, a blue cape with a light-colored cross underneath to the left, and a long, blue dress with long, white sleeve cuffs. She was what everyone called the perfect representation of an angel.

As Sherbet stepped closer to Yosaflame to explain himself, Lost couldn't help but snicker a bit as Sherbet spoke, albeit with exaggerated gestures and whatnot.

"A-And that's what happened! Yeah, exactly like that! Me and Lost were just hanging out together like normal, Cranber intervened for no fucking reason, I told her off, and she decided to attack me right then and there! Y-Yeah, that was all! That was all, I fucking swear," Sherbet exclaimed, having a lop-sided smile as he tried to keep calm so as to sound believable.

Cranber smiled mockingly upon hearing this. "He's actually telling the truth, Yosaflame~" she began, "but to say that he just 'told me off' doesn't ring quite right, you see~ He insulted me, mind you," she continued, twirling a strand of her hair.

"And you guys weren't 'hanging out', you were practically insulting each other! Doesn't sound normal and friendly to me," she added, rolling her eyes while turning away just to smirk a bit.

Sherbet's smile started crumbling little by little, turning into a look that spelled either panic, nervousness, or anger. "As if you haven't seen us do that very often! That's very normal, I tell you! Don't try twisting what really happened, bitch!" he retorted.

"Say what you may. Though, that doesn't change the fact that you insulted me… how shameful! And considering that you're an angel… well, I guess not all angels are like Ciel," Cranber says with a sigh, feigning distress. "Such a disappointment."

"I did NOT insult you! Or… okay, maybe I did, but did I even mention anything about ripping off each others' guts? You were the one who wanted that in the first place, you annoying, bug-eating—"

"**THAT'S ENOUGH.**"

Yosaflame's stern voice was more than enough to stop the two from arguing any further. He then proceeded to look at Cranber, then at Sherbet, and with a heavy sigh, started to speak. "Lost, what do you have to say about this?"

Just as Lost was about to open his mouth to speak, his eyes met a pair of green orbs that looked as if they were pleading to him. He gave out a heavy sigh upon seeing that Ciel was extremely hoping that he would be telling the truth, although she didn't show it quite openly as she should.

After a moment of silence, Lost finally spoke.

"I-It was just as Sherbet said. We were just having a small argument on whose hobby was the worst, and Cranber… erm, somehow misinterpreted it and thought we were fighting seriously," he took a moment to pause, as if he was worried that he might say something wrong. "Then Sherbet says something about Cranber's eating habits. Cranber got mad, and what happened after that was… pretty much what you saw before blowing off a hella lot of fire," he ended, hoping that somehow no one between Sherbet and Cranber would raid his home tonight for somehow putting both of them down.

Hearing all of it, Yosaflame's face remained neutral for a few moments, making the other people wonder if he was even considering their explanations. He then starting shaking his head, and spoke yet again. "As much as I'd like to deal with this, there are other things that are much more important than these… petty arguments," he began, as he glared at both Cranber and Sherbet.

"I'll decide who to believe later. For the meantime, the reason why I came here is because of a certain announcement."

At this point, everyone's attention was diverted to Yosaflame. "Eh? An announcement? What's up?" Sherbet asked, curious.

"It is something that's coming from Blancblack Castle," Ciel finally says, in a voice that would've been barely audible for anyone, had it not been that they were all practically huddled together in a small circle. "Apparently, the God of our world and the Devil have reached an agreement of some sort."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute, what's this about the new Devil? When did we have one?" Lost asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Last time I checked, our King was dead, so isn't God technically our only ruler now?"

"Do you even go out that often, Lost? Or are you too busy with your girly recipes?" Sherbet mocked, his mischievous nature showing itself as the incident that happened earlier somehow became a bit forgotten.

Yosaflame had the time to shoot a warning glare at Sherbet, who decided to remain quiet, then he turned to Lost to answer his question.

"Yes, while it's true that our King is dead, there has been a new Devil who has been selected to replace him. Which isn't really that surprising, since of course, we can't just go on without a king," he says, crossing his arms.

"That much is true," Ciel says, a small smile making its way to her face.

"That aside… yes, the demons have a new Devil, and this Devil has entered a pact with our God."

This time, it was Cranber's turn to shoot Ciel an inquiry. "Ah, Miss Ciel, if you wouldn't mind… what exactly does this pact contain?"

Hearing this, Ciel takes a moment to smile yet again, before answering.

"This pact states that…"

* * *

"… that the angels and the demons of my world will now co-exist peacefully without any personal or racial conflict," she answers, her voice monotone.

The inquirer, an angel dressed in a light gray coat and a dark gray dress decorated with diamonds, and armed with a quiver of arrows, nods in understanding upon hearing an answer. "So that's what the pact contains…"

"Though… with all due respect, Lady Etihw, why create this pact? Not that I intend on intruding, but… we all know that angels and demons are complete opposites in terms of kind, right?"

Etihw, the God of the Garden, turns to the angel so as to answer her. "That much is true," she began, her expression unchanging, "but in this world that I myself created, they are the only groups that exist within this world. What good would it bring to have these groups in conflict? And with the only reason being their racial differences? No, that won't do."

"Also, I have had the Head Angel talk this over with their Devil. There hasn't been any problems with that, considering that the new Devil agreed to this," she added.

"That alone already makes things final, now, am I not right, Alela Grora?" Etihw said, proceeding to look down at the angel who stood just a few feet below her.

To this, Grora nodded in agreement. "That does seem like a good reason, Go—Lady Etihw. Very valid, if I could say so myself," she said. "But… well, not that I question your decision, Lady Etihw, I greatly respect it, really, I do—"

Etihw interrupted her. "If you have something to say, then just say it straight; don't beat around the bush. It makes you look as though you actually are questioning me. Do I make myself clear on that?"

"Yes, my Lady." _Well, if you would've let me finish talking, then maybe I wouldn't sound that way to you_, Grora thought, biting her lip.

"Now, back to what I was saying earlier… how are you sure that you can trust this Devil? I mean, I'm pretty sure you haven't really met him in person, am I right, Lady Etihw?"

"Yes, that much is true," Etihw replied. "But what about it?"

Oh man, this is going to be hard. "So, if we don't know that much about him other than being the next assigned Devil, then… how are we sure that he can be trusted? I mean, it could be possible that he has a secret agenda or something like that."

This made Etihw think for a few moments. Then she finally spoke.

"If that was the case, Alela Grora…"

Etihw took some time to pause, before continuing, her expression darker and her voice more monotone than before.

"… then he, as the new Devil, should know better than to even come into an agreement with a God, let alone, with me. Surely, he isn't that stupid, now, is he?"

Silence. More silence. Until Etihw spoke yet again.

"Now, if you do not have any more inquiries, then you may take your leave."

At this point, Grora let out a small sigh. "V-Very well then, my Lady." Just when she was about to turn to the door, however, Etihw called back to her.

"Also, Alela Grora…"

"Y-Yes, my lady?"

"If I had let you finish speaking earlier, then it would be a waste of my time, and we wouldn't get very far in our conversation."

Grora couldn't help but let out a small gasp upon hearing this. _How did she—_

"What did you expect of me? I am God, after all. Don't expect me to not know."

* * *

As soon as she exited the Great Hall, Grora couldn't help but literally stomp away from that door in irritation.

_Really now, what kind of a God is she? Ugh… she shouldn't just read other people's minds just like that!_

Shaking her head, Grora decided to dismiss these thoughts so as to not ruin her day any further.

_I hope I'll be able to bump into the Head Angel today, _she thought. _Yes, bullying him for a while might get me out of my bad mood._

And with that, Grora set off to find the Head Angel.

* * *

As nighttime arrived at the Great Hall, Etihw turns her head to look outside the wide, round window that was placed just beside the table. She let out a heavy sigh.

_Yes, that's right_, she thought. _The pact shall be in effect starting tomorrow. Also…_

_Tomorrow would be the day that I would meet him._

As she thought of these things, she had her lips in a tight frown.

_Just what kind of person would this Devil be, I wonder…_

* * *

_Just what kind of person would the God of the Garden be, I wonder_…

The Devil couldn't help but worry about such trivial things that night. Well, it wasn't really quite surprising, considering that he didn't really have that high an experience when it came to being a ruler, let alone, a King. He is newly-elected, after all… no one should blame him, should anything go wrong tomorrow.

But no, that was something that he will not allow to happen. No, not tomorrow, of all days. Or rather, it was something that he cannot allow to happen. He knew that even at this moment, other Devils are probably watching his every move, and are more likely to scrutinize him the moment he commits a mistake.

He has to surpass their expectations.

Before he decided to go to sleep that night, he remembered what his younger brother had told him that day, a few hours or so ago… he couldn't really remember how long it has been.

_Brother, now that you would be agreeing to this pact… keep in mind that you'll have to somehow stick with it. I'm not allowed to tell you much, but our God… is not someone you can mess around with._

_Please keep that in mind… Kcalb._

With a heavy sigh and thoughts running around in his mind, Kcalb decided to call it a night.

Tomorrow, he will be able to meet the God his brother held in such high regard.


	3. Blancblack Castle

**II**

**-Blancblack Castle-**

On the outside, today looked just like any other day in the Garden. The village remained peaceful as always. There was that usual town bustle that went on in it every day; lots of chattering and possibly meaningless babble were all over the place. While this would sound annoying to a normal person, to the residents, this was their exact definition of peace, quiet, and normality.

But for today, that was only for the sake of outer appearances. No, it wasn't because they were actually sad in the inside. In fact, today was actually a day everyone should be up and about, celebrating. Why, you ask?

For today was a special day for all of them, angels and demons alike. This was the day they had all been waiting for ever since the previous Devil had died and the demons were left without a ruler.

**The day that a certain pact will be created.**

That alone was really good news for everyone, especially the demons. While it's true that some of them have a bad feeling of how this pact would turn out in the end, majority of the residents still believed that this meant a fresh start for all of them. Some of them are starting to speculate about who the new Devil would be. Some, on the other hand, are starting to reveal to others their expectations of whoever their new Devil would be.

Either ways, emotions were really starting to run high that day, they were pretty much a mix of anticipation and anxiety, excitement and dread, and so much more. Like two sides of the same coin. Which, of course, is quite unavoidable.

As the time drew near for the residents to hear the official pact, some of them are now starting to get ready to go to the place where everything important would take place.

And where, you ask?

None other than the Gray Village's castle, **Blancblack Castle.**

* * *

Blancblack Castle was a place that takes up a large amount of space in the Garden. Located to the North of the Gray Village, the castle in itself could serve as a city of some sort in itself; that was how vast it was. The way to the castle itself is quite long, considering how it would actually pass by a lot of miniature gardens that surrounded it.

The first thing one would see there upon arrival is the huge wall that surrounds it; an immense brick wall with pillars that are, in turn, decorated with at least one huge diamond on top that served as a barrier of sorts. In the gap between the walls, one would be greeted by a grand staircase that would lead to a cobblestone path, which, in return, would lead to the only fountain in the castle that bore its name on it, should one pay attention at all. After passing that fountain, one should be able to find the actual entrance of the castle; that is, a huge door with a symmetric diamond pattern for decoration.

Entering this door, you will be led again to another pathway, albeit made of marble. The sides of the path are adorned with pillars that, again, have a diamond atop of it. If one were to pay attention, one would notice that the diamonds were of two colors: black and white. Another thing one would notice is that the castle is seemingly divided into half; whereas while the left half (should one be entering the castle) is decorated with white diamonds, the right half, on the other hand, is decorated with black diamonds.

Going back to the path, it leads again to yet another staircase, albeit smaller than the one seen in the main entrance. On either side of the said staircase, one would be able to find a small door. While it is unknown to some residents what these doors contain, it is said that they actually lead to a miniature garden. How there is a garden inside the castle, no one wishes to know.

This staircase, should one finish climbing it, would lead to two sides of the castle. Technically speaking, whichever side one takes wouldn't really matter, since whatever one side contains, the other side will most likely contain that as well. The only difference would be the color of the diamonds on top of the pillars, as well as the color of each room's furniture, which are found in almost every room you pass by.

Starting from here, the castle has three floors that are open to the public, excluding the park-like entrance. On the first floor of the castle, one would be able to find rooms that seemingly served as a lounge for whoever wanted to pass by. After that, once one enters the second floor, one should be able to find rooms that served as a library of some sort. Each library is managed by either an angel or demon that served the castle. And finally, on the third floor, one would be taken to rooms that contained a seemingly long table. What purpose it served… perhaps for meetings. Either ways, like the first two floors, it was also open to anyone and everyone who meant no harm.

Surely, some residents think that the castle has only four floors.

**Wrong.**

At the very end of the third floor, there would be only one staircase in the middle that would lead to the very top of the castle, unlike the other floors, which had at least a narrow staircase on either side of the floor. This place is only reserved for trusted attendants, important visitors, those who have been summoned by God and those who have special permission from either the Head Angel or his subordinates.

Once one reaches the end of that single staircase, one would be greeted by, yet again, a diamond-patterned door… although this time, it seems slightly darker, and not to mention, larger than the first door, if not the same in size. On both sides of the door, there is a smaller door. Like the diamonds, they are also color-coded; the one on the left is white, while the one on the right is black. No one knows what these doors may contain, but there are some attendants who claim that those doors are actually the rooms of those who ruled over the Garden. Whether or not that is true, no resident really knows.

But what of the central door? What lies behind it? Well, only a few people know about that. What the residents know, however, is that the room behind it was called 'The Great Hall'.

At this moment, however, something really important is soon to happen behind that door.

Behind that door, at this very moment, God is just there, sitting atop the room, waiting.

**Waiting for the arrival of a King.**

* * *

Meanwhile, in a slightly far-away place within the Garden, a certain newly-elected Devil was starting to prepare his things for his departure for Blancblack Castle. After all, as the new ruler of the Garden, he would have to start living alongside God, as it had been with all the other Devils… though, from the stories he had been told, God's relationships with them didn't go as pleasantly as they should have.

As soon as Kcalb heard of these, he had started praying that he would be different from all of them, that he would actually have a decent relationship with God, regardless of the apparent differences in race and, most likely, beliefs.

_May God have at least the least bit of mercy on me_, he thought, biting on his lower lip as he looked at himself in the mirror that was present in his room. As he looked at his reflection, he couldn't help but think of why he, of all people, was chosen to be the next king. He didn't really understand it at all. _What exactly did they see in me_? he thought, his brows furrowing in confusion. As far as he was concerned, all he could see in the mirror was an unsociable, reclusive devil who refuses to even think of the outside world.

_They could've just chosen my younger brother—no, that can't be, he's an angel_.

The fact that he had an angel for a younger brother made Kcalb wish that he be born as the angel instead. _If that had happened_, he thought, _then maybe I wouldn't have to deal with such a heavy burden. But then again…_

"Perhaps this really is unavoidable," he muttered, shaking his head slowly. It was only then that Kcalb had realized that being in the royal family can actually be quite a pain. Back when he was younger, he never really cared about what happened outside of their castle, politically speaking; in fact, he and his younger brother would even make fun of it once in a while. And yet, here he is now, in the very position that he had made fun of before.

Oh, the irony.

_If only—_

"Brother."

Kcalb's train of thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. He had been so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't notice that someone had already entered his room.

None other than Blancblack Castle's Head Angel, Wodahs.

With apparent difficulty, Kcalb turned away from the mirror to face his younger brother.

"What is it, Wod?" he asked, with a face that reeked of tiredness and lack of enthusiasm. Seeing this, Wodahs' face softened a bit, his eyes showing concern for his brother.

"… Nothing, really. I just wanted to check on you and see if you were ready. Since it's almost time for us to leave," Wodahs replied.

"…" Kcalb remained in silence before finally letting out a heavy sigh.

"I see. Then… just wait for me downstairs," he said. "I'll be there in a moment, I suppose."

Wodahs nodded upon hearing this. "That's good to hear. I'll be taking my leave then," he said, turning around so as to leave the room.

Kcalb was about to go back to facing the mirror, but was again interrupted by his brother's voice calling out to him.

"… Brother."

Not turning away from the mirror this time, Kcalb replied, "…What?"

"I have a small request to make, if you don't mind."

This surprised Kcalb. He knew for a fact that Wodahs didn't really speak out his mind quite often. Kcalb remained silent, still not facing Wodahs.

"…"

"If possible, please remove all nervousness that you have right now, while we haven't left yet."

Kcalb turned to Wodahs in surprise. "How…"

His brother's reaction didn't surprise him at all, not even one bit. Maintaining a straight face, he continued, "I'm your brother. Do you not expect me to at least know how shy you actually are, even with these matters?"

"…"

"…"

"…" Kcalb had no idea what to say at that moment. The silence continued to echo inside that room. Until…

"… fine."

To Wodahs, that was enough of an answer, though by looking at his face, it was obvious that he was still in doubt. "I'll be leaving for real now," he said, as he turned to leave the room, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he had left, Kcalb couldn't help but be dumbfounded for a few moments before finally regaining his train of thought.

"…" _Damn you_, Kcalb thought, gritting his teeth. Though he can't help but admit that Wodahs was indeed right about that; his socializing skills were embarrassingly low, for a King.

_And perhaps I really need to do it_, he thought, another heavy sigh escaping his lips. It made him remember what Wodahs had told him yesterday about their God.

Straightening himself up, Kcalb finally put on his black coat, took one last look at his room, and went out to join Wodahs.

* * *

In the Great Hall, Etihw remained still, sitting on a chair that floated near the highest window of the room, never uttering a single word. It was very quiet. So quiet to the point that Etihw can actually hear her steady heartbeat loud and clear.

While her whole body was poised, akin to that of how a proper lady sat, her eyes, however, never took themselves off the single white warp slate that lay untouched in the hallway beneath her. The warp slate that she had decided to create just for this moment; yes, she had never done this for other Devils before.

This warp slate was where she expected this new Devil to arrive.

With a deep sigh, Etihw continued to stare at the warp slate intently as she continued to think of what kind of person the King would be.

At the moment, she had quite high expectations of him, whoever he would be. She expected him to be someone strict, extralegal in actions, and someone responsible. Someone who she actually rely on, should any serious problem in the Garden arise.

As much as Etihw wanted these thoughts of hers to come true, at the back of her mind, she was somehow afraid that the King would turn out to be the complete opposite of it all. That the King would be like all the other Kings that had once ruled in the Garden; stubborn, boastful, cocky, all talk… she had seen so much of them that it was all sounding really monotonous to her, as if it was already a ritual within the castle.

But… _no_, she thought, her lips in a straight line and her eyes devoid of any emotion. _I shouldn't think like this. Who am I to doubt the one who is yet to come? One who I hadn't met just yet?_

"Such foolish thoughts," Etihw uttered, her expression darkening.

Suddenly, a sound interrupted her thoughts.

Taken by surprise, Etihw blinked twice, looking at the warp slate, or rather, the people beside it. Upon seeing them, Etihw put on the most professional face she could possibly think of.

_Finally._

"Lady Etihw."

As he looked up to Etihw, Wodahs began to speak, his hands gesturing to his companion.

"The Devil is here."

Upon hearing this, Etihw looked at Wodahs, before turning to the person he called 'Devil'.

"So…" Etihw began, a small smile forming on her lips.

"**We finally meet."**

* * *

Back at the Gray Village, Yosaflame, along with Sherbet, Cranber, Lost, and Ciel, were already making their way towards Blancblack Castle, along with a lot more residents who were all looking very enthusiastic for what was soon to take place.

As they passed by one miniature garden after another, they conversed with each other casually. Everything was normal, until Sherbet suddenly nudged Yosaflame.

"'Ey, Yosaf," he began, nudging Yosaflame a bit too hard for the latter to not be annoyed by the gesture.

With an annoyed voice, he replied, "What is it, Sherbet?"

"Um… Say…" he began, playing with the edges of his scarf, "have you met this Devil, yourself?"

To this, Yosaflame suddenly looked at Sherbet as if he just asked an extremely stupid question.

"Of course not," he replied, matter-of-factly, "why would you even think that I would?"

"Oh, nothing… just that, uh, well, I figured that since you're quite a frequent summon at the castle, I thought that might've at least met 'im. Or heard of 'im."

Yosaflame shook his head. "Today will be the King's first day at the castle, so of course, no one, not even God, would meet him," he said, adjusting his glasses for a moment before continuing.

"But… now that you mentioned it, I have been hearing bits about him from the attendants."

Now it was Cranber's turn to break some silence. "Ohhh, really?!" she asked excitedly.

"Then… would you mind telling us what you know of him?"

"That could be a good thing to do, y'know," Lost said, turning to Yosaflame.

"Seconded," Sherbet added. "Also, there's still a long way to go before we reach the castle, so yeah, do tell, man."

"…" Ciel remained silent, holding on to Lost's hand the whole time as they all showed their curiosity on the Garden's new Devil. She somehow expected Yosaflame to tell them about what he knew; even she herself admits that she is quite curious about the King as well.

However, Yosaflame shook his head. "No."

"Oh?"

"Huh?"

"**Whaaaaaat?**" Sherbet said, the impatience apparent in his voice.

"Come on, Yosaf, don't hog the details to yourself!"

"I said no, and that's final," Yosaflame replied, irritated. "I wouldn't want to gossip about the Devil. Besides, you never know; what if the information I have is false? It won't do anyone good, believe me," he explained.

Hearing this, Sherbet was obviously annoyed. "Killjoy."

"Say what you want. I won't change my mind."

"But—"

"**Guuuuuuuuuuuys~!**"

Just as Sherbet was about to argue with Yosaflame, a familiar, high-pitched voice interrupted them.

The voice came from an angel who, at the moment, was hovering over the walls of the castle.

"I'd hate to interrupt, but… mhmm, it seemed like you didn't notice that you're all here already~"

Yosaflame and the others stopped for a moment to look at the surroundings, and as the angel had said, they were already at Blancblack Castle. Not surprisingly, it was quite packed, which was a rare sight, considering how the castle is usually quiet and empty most of the time.

"Come on in, all of yoooou~!"

Entering the castle along with the others, Yosaflame started scanning his surroundings. As soon as he had finished doing so, he finally managed to grasp what was happening at the moment.

_The pact had been made._


	4. Celebration

**III**

**-Celebration-**

As Yosaflame had expected, the Castle was, for the first time, quite the scene with a lot of people coming in and out of it. Some of them were chatting merrily as if they have known each other for ages, while others seemed very neutral about whatever was happening at that moment, as if wanting this festive atmosphere to end. But most of them were happy—_very_ happy, to be exact.

As soon as he had finished taking in the sight of everything, he then turned to the angel who had call their attention.

"You seem to be quite giddy today… Rigatona."

The said angel laughed a clear laugh upon mention of her name.

"Weeeell, you shouldn't be surprised~!" she replied, flapping her wings so as to lower herself and to be nearer to them. "After all, I am like this all the time, y'know?" she continued with a wink.

"Yes, she's right, Yosaflame," Cranber said, nodding her head in agreement. "You have noooooo idea."

Yosaflame inwardly agreed. Considering how Cranber was practically with Rigatona all the time, of course she would know better than anyone else that Rigatona was an angel who tends to be too giddy even for her own good. But then again, he knew that no one should be fooled by how she appears to be; despite the extremely optimistic vibe she gives off, she can prove to be _really_ dangerous once provoked. From what he's heard, Rigatona is like Cranber in terms of their 'fighting faces'; that is, always carrying a mad grin on their faces.

With these characteristics, it made one wonder as to how a person like Rigatona would be an angel.

_How ironic_, he thought.

"—flame. Yosaflame! **HEY!**"

That annoyingly familiar voice sent Yosaflame out of his thoughts. Brushing off these thoughts from his mind, he started to focus on what was happening in the present.

Sherbet gave off a sigh of annoyance upon noticing that Yosaflame was somewhat out of it.

"Duuuuude. Have you been listening?" he asked, although he already knew to himself what the answer was.

The green-haired demon took a moment to clean and adjust his glasses, which had somehow become slightly blurred, before turning his attention to Sherbet.

"Hm? What is it, now?" he asked, maintaining a monotone voice.

Lost couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing Yosaflame's current state. _Huh, so even this guy has times when he's blank-minded?_

Cranber couldn't help but giggle at such a sight. Even Ciel couldn't help but secretly smile. To them, it was something to be laughed at, if not made fun of, considering how they all know Yosaflame to be a strict demon with extralegal habits. Sherbet, however, was obviously annoyed, despite his attempts to hide it by laughing a bit.

"Knew you weren't listening," he began, as he laughed mockingly. "But anyways, what I was telling you was that there's a banquet of some sort goin' on at the castle, it seems," he said, shrugging a bit.

"Ah, what Sherbet was trying to say is that he was wondering if you were going to stay until the end of it? If you don't have other matters to attend to, that is~!" Cranber added, her trademark sweet smile forming itself on her face. "If you don't want to, though, then that's fine by us! Though it would be a shame if you of all people wouldn't staaaay…!"

Yosaflame winced inwardly. _What a slightly… stupid question_, he thought. _And here I thought I missed something very important..._

"Of course I'm staying. Why would I even come all the way here if I won't?" he replied, crossing his arms.

Truth be told, Yosaflame didn't really have any intentions of staying in the castle for too long. What was important to him at that moment was that the pact had been made, and that everyone would be at peace from then on. That was all he really needed to know that day, hence, the reason why he agreed to go with them.

_But then again_, he thought, furrowing his brows ever so slightly, _to not stay until the end of this occasion would probably be considered… rude of me._ He was also trying to take into consideration that he, along with some others, are really trusted attendants in the castle. To not attend the most important occasion in history would be really taken badly by others.

"Soooo, now that that's settled… why don't you all come on in now?" Rigatona said, casually interrupting the others. "As Cranber once said before: one shouldn't keep food waiting! And besides, don't tell me y'all want to stay in front of the castle gates forever!"

"You really know me, don't you, dear?" Cranber said in response, winking at the green-clad angel.

A smirk formed on Sherbet's face. "You only came here for the food, huh, doll?"

Cranber glared at the blonde angel in response. "You make it sound like that's the sole reason I came here," she said, "Why, is it because you're jealous of theeeeem?"

Cranber's question made Sherbet laugh. "Pfffft-! You're funny, doll! Who would even get jealous of food?" he asked, his face contorting to that of a mocking expression.

"And also, why would I even get jealous in the first place? I don't even like you in _that way_," he continued, still laughing so much to the point that he already had tears in his eyes.

Rigatona shook her head slowly and gave Sherbet a look that said exactly what was on her mind at that very moment. _I don't believe a single word you're saying._

And apparently she wasn't the only one who thought that way; everyone, including Yosaflame, knew that Sherbet somehow had quite the attraction towards the lone bat-like demon with a revolting taste in food. And it was also most likely that Cranber herself knew about his feelings and is just playing hard-to-get for the sake of seeing him suffer for a bit. But as to how long it had been and how much he was attracted, no one really knows.

But what they do know is that it was really there.

Everyone knew.

**Everyone but Sherbet himself.**

That fact wasn't really surprising, should one know Sherbet better; for all they know, despite his extremely outgoing appearance, he was awfully dense when it came to these types of topics. But then again, they can't really be sure, since at the same time, Sherbet was also the type to hide his feelings towards something, be they positive or negative, with the use of mockery and, very rarely, hate.

_What a stupid angel_, they thought.

"Uhh… guys?" Sherbet mouthed awkwardly, so as to break the silence that had somehow started to reek in between his friends for reasons _only he_ didn't know.

"A-Ah… no, nothing, nothing at all! We were just, uh…" Lost mumbled, gazing at all his friends, as if trying to secretly ask help for what he should say. "W-We're just, erm…"

Rigatona's face brightened all of a sudden. "Weweresohungrythatweallblankedout!" she said, so fast that it took them a few seconds to fully take in what she just said. They all just decided to nod in approval.

"Mm… now that you've mentioned it, Rigatona, I… haven't eaten anything prior to leaving the village," Ciel said, her voice akin to a whisper. "Why don't we all enter the castle for real this time?"

"Greaaaat idea~!" Cranber squealed, almost bouncing in where she stood.

"Let's gooooooooooooo!"

_Really now, these guys…_ Yosaflame thought, his hand massaging his temples as he walked with them towards the inside of the castle.

As soon as they all entered the castle, they were all greeted with an extremely rare sight.

The pathway towards the very first floor of the castle was, in a way, filled with people. Some of them were people that they could somehow recognize were residents of Gray Village; for instance, Michael, a strange-looking cat shopkeeper who was almost always open for business, be it through hell or high waters. Some of them, however, were completely unrecognizable even by Yosaflame; perhaps they were from the deep forests found in the Garden? Or perhaps they were visitors invited by God herself?

Either ways, that didn't really matter now. The bottom line was that there were **a lot** of people. And not to mention that all their voices echoed all through-out, but in a surprisingly pleasant manner. Simply put, the castle was seemingly packed. Various phrases and such could be heard at that moment. But they all amounted to the same feelings: amazement and anticipation.

_"The castle looks beautiful tonight!"_

_"I've never seen the castle look this grand before!"_

_"The pact must've gone really well this time!"_

_"Ahhh, I can't wait to get inside and see God and the new Devil!"_

But that wasn't the only thing that caught their attention.

What caught their attention even more were the diamonds that floated in the room.

Unlike the slightly large diamonds that floated above the pillars of the castle walls, the diamonds that floated there were smaller in size—tiny, even. Like the pillar diamonds, they came in only two colors: black and white. Another pleasing addition to their appearance was that they looked like stars twinkling within the castle; for some odd reason, they gave off a distinct shine that can be seen above. It made one both want to reach for them, or just stare at them and never avert their eyes.

Back on the ground, even the fountain looked more beautiful than usual. It shined more compared to how it does on a typical day; even the water seemed really crystal-clear to the point that it seemed too fragile to even touch, as if you would break a mirror should you touch it.

All but Rigatona had a gaze akin to that of being in a trance.

"W-Woah…" Lost muttered, his eyes affixed to the ceiling of the entrance. "This is…"

Sherbet, on the other hand, couldn't help but keep on switching his gaze between the fountain and some diamonds that floated quite low. "This is just… plain flashy, man."

"Flashy?! It actually looks faint! In a pleasant sense, of course~" Cranber interjected, her eyes widening at the sight of diamonds. _Can they be eaten…?_ She wondered, taking time to lick her lips for a slight second. She decided that she'll find the answer to that later.

"Hey, I meant that in a good way! Besides, it's not every day that the castle looks like this," Sherbet replied, flailing his arms.

Ciel simply smiled, her eyes giving off an unusual shine. "… it's all so beautiful."

Yosaflame, however, chose to remain silent instead. Though he would be lying if he said that he was indifferent to all of these; in reality, he was actually mesmerized by how the castle appeared to be tonight. But he knew that if he showed any sign of feeling such, then they would all give him quite a stare, which, he inwardly admits, made him really uncomfortable, even if he didn't say it.

Rigatona, however, had nothing but a smug smile on her face as she hovered over them, taking time to touch the floating diamonds. Looking at her, Yosaflame couldn't help but think that she seemed highly indifferent to what she saw. Then again, there were times that she would actually act indifferent to almost everything; it felt as though it took a lot to amaze her.

He had been staring for so long that he didn't notice that Rigatona had been observing him all along.

"Got something on your mind?"

Her voice made Yosaflame snap out of his thoughts. He simply smiled and shook his head in response.

"No, nothing at all. I'm probably just… spacing out again."

Rigatona didn't seem convinced. She waited for the others to go a bit further from view before finally making herself put on the ground it was then that she started walking towards Yosaflame, making eye contact with him, which forced the latter to look back.

The green-clad angel smiled a bit before going closer and finally speaking. "Let me guess," she began, her voice surprisingly quieter than usual, "you're wondering on why I don't have the same reaction as y'all?"

The glasses-wearing demon remained silent, which leads to Rigatona taking that as a 'yes' from him.

"Weeeell," she continued, "of course I was here before you all. Of course I've already explored the castle earlier, back when it was still eeempty!" she finished with a loud cackle that echoed all through-out.

Yosaflame couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her. Now that he thought about it, Rigatona had been hovering by the castle gates when they arrived, meaning to say she probably had been sight-seeing during the time that they weren't there. But as to how she had managed to fly through the castle without being scolded by the Head Angel's assistant, he'll never know. _She probably has her ways_, he thought, sighing a bit.

"That asiiiide… I think we should get going now, hm?" Rigatona said, pointing to the entrance beyond the fountain. "The others are probably wondering where we are~"

"Good idea," Yosaflame replied with a nod of his head. And with that, they started to walk towards the said entrance, the chatters coming from within getting louder as they neared it.

As soon as they entered, however, Yosaflame was in for yet again another sight to behold.

Like the pathway earlier, the room they were in at the moment had a lot of diamonds floating by the ceiling, but this time around, there seemed to be more of them. And unlike the diamonds outside, which were somehow moving around the place, the diamonds in this room remained still, as if a single movement they'd make would make them fall down and break. Yosaflame couldn't help but admit that this was a more relaxing sight than the sight outside. The two sights, he noted, seemed to greatly contrast each other; while the first sight seemed to be excited and in frenzy, this one seemed to be taking on a more formal and more subdued mood.

Besides the diamonds that appeared in the ceiling, another thing Yosaflame noticed were something that weren't in that room before; that is, sets of long tables that filled either side of the room. Each table was filled with a lot of food, so much that he doubts that they'd all be able to finish it even if they wanted to. _But then again, Cranber was here_, so no one could really tell, he thought.

_Speaking of Cranber… where are the others?_ He suddenly asked himself, which led him to start scanning the room so as to find them, seeing as almost all of the seats seemed occupied.

"Yo, guys! Over heeeere!" a voice shouted. Hearing this, Yosaflame searched for the source of the voice. His eyes finally landed on a certain blonde-haired figure that sat at the leftmost side of the room. So as to make things easier for him, Yosaflame decided to fly over to them, with Rigatona tagging along.

"There you are!" Cranber exclaimed, her voice a bit louder than usual. "We were starting to wonder if you guys got lost~!"

Rigatona raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Only someone stupid would get lost going here, Cran," she said, smirking at the pink-haired demon. "We just wanted to stay outside looonger…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sherbet interjected, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, why don't you guys sit already?" he asked, gesturing to two unoccupied seats.

In response to this, the two finally took their places in the table. Yosaflame finally spoke after some time. "Have we missed anything important?"

"Nope, not at all, not at all," Lost said with a small chuckle. His gaze shifted over to the grand staircase.

"In fact, it's just about to start."

"Oh?"

Yosaflame followed Lost's gaze. It was only then that he saw something that he hadn't noticed when he first came in earlier.

At the top of the grand staircase, floating above it were two large diamonds, one black and the other white. They were noticeably larger than the diamonds that floated above the room, yet they were a tad smaller than the pillar diamonds. Another striking feature that these diamonds had was that they held not a single gleam to them; simply put, these diamonds looked extremely dull in comparison to the other diamonds.

_But what are these diamonds for?_ Yosaflame asked himself.

As soon as the most awaited people in the room came, however, he knew that'd he'd be able to get his answer in just a few moments.

"They're finally here!" someone exclaimed.

**The God and the Devil.**

As always, the God, Etihw, looked beautiful, despite the fact that she was wearing the same set of robes she had always worn; a long, white dress covered by a gray robe with diamond-shaped patterns, and topped off by a white cape with gray diamond patterns. For some reason, at that moment, there was a glow of some sort that seemed to radiate from her as she made her entrance, her feet taking very nimble steps. Her long hair cascaded all the way down to the floor, which, despite not having much of a shine, remained to be beautiful to everyone's view. Her hair was adorned with at least three long, white diamonds on either side of her, serving as a part of the very few accessories she wore.

Yes. To the villagers and visitors alike, she was deemed beautiful and radiant beyond comprehension.

On the other hand, the Devil, whom no one knew of at that moment, greatly contrasted their God's bright façade. While God was shrouded in white, the Devil was shrouded in nothing but black. His overall appearance was quite simple; a dark double-breasted trench coat that had gray diamond patterns on its sleeves and black diamond-shaped buttons, black pants, and a dark cape coat that had a bit of fur at its collar. His hair was grayish-white, slightly covering his face. He also had long, dark horns on his head, and like Etihw, he had pale, bone-white skin. His most distinct feature, however, were his eyes; his eyes, unlike most people, had black sclera and white irises. They seemed too dark for anyone to look into.

Upon seeing him, most of the visitors couldn't help but think of him as someone intimidating.

_Oh, if only they knew._

* * *

As they entered the scene, Etihw couldn't help but smile for the slightest moment upon seeing the faces of all the visitors in the room that evening. Despite her extralegal nature, the fact that they were all happy made her heart jump. They were the exact reason why Etihw, despite how tiring it tends to be at times, does whatever she can to make the best decisions and to rule with justice and grace, all for the sake of the Garden's well-being. While she does admit to herself that there have been times she had made even worse decisions that were usually on impulse, it would eventually be fixed and made up for at the end of the day.

But now she won't be doing such things alone anymore; at least not for now. For today, she had finally gotten herself someone who would be able to rule with the same ideals and good intentions as she always had; simply put, someone who would respect her decisions and someone who would be on the same bar as she was.

She turns for a moment to look at Kcalb, who seemed to have a lot of things on his mind. Seeing as how the people practically focused on the two of them, she wouldn't be surprised if Kcalb actually feels the slightest bit pressured at the moment.

She then saw her two trusted angels appearing from either side of the room so as to make everyone stay quiet. As soon as they had all quieted down, Etihw took a few steps towards the two diamonds, with Kcalb doing the same.

A long silence, followed by a quiet flapping of wings, could be heard as the Head Angel Wodahs, a figure clad in white, flew towards the front of the large staircase. As soon as he had landed, it was now Grora's turn to fly towards him so as to hand over a scroll that she had been carrying prior to the beginning of this occasion.

While Grora hovered back to her previous position, Etihw took the time to face the visitors before beginning to speak.

"A pleasant evening to all who are here at this very moment," she began, her voice loud and clear.

"I'm sure all of you are somewhat aware as to why we are here, am I not right?" she asked, her eyes scanning the room as she spoke. "Though at the same time, you people probably don't know the full details of it all…"

This sentence brought the full attention of the visitors, with their faces either surprised, curious, or just plain attentive.

Back at the long tables, people are beginning to wonder as to what their God would actually tell them.

"This is… about the pact, yes?" Ciel whispered, her eyes focused on Etihw.

"It has to be that," Yosaflame replied, nodding in agreement. "Otherwise, I don't see any other reason why God would call upon all of us like this."

"True, true," Cranber interjected. "Unless God used that as bait to call us all in here~~~"

"Don't start giving such stupid ideas, idiot," Sherbet said, frowning.

"The possibilities are endless, don't you know that?" Cranber retorted. "What, would you—"

"Sshhh, quiet now, you two," Ciel said, blinking twice. "I think God still has something to say."

Sure enough, Etihw began speaking once more. "For the sake of clarity, I won't beat around the bush any longer."

This statement was then followed by Etihw gesturing toward Kcalb. Looking over him, she continued, "I would like to once again call everyone's attention, especially the demons." A short pause, then, "This person you see before you right now is, as you all have probably guessed, your new Devil… Kcalb."

Everyone's gazes shifted over to Kcalb, who crossed his arms as he bowed slightly so as to acknowledge everyone's presence.

Etihw gave a small smile before continuing. "Just recently, the Devil and I have reached an agreement that we believe would prove vital for everyone in this Garden. With this, we can safely say that all of you—angels and demons alike—may continue to live in peace and harmony for as long as our pact remains alive."

"And…" she paused, looking at Wodahs, who was currently at the end of the staircase, "as proof of this, I have had our pact put to written form so as to reassure everyone that all of this is real and not just a sweet dream, or a bitter nightmare."

This was the signal the Head Angel had been waiting for. With a deep breath, Wodahs slowly opened the scroll and began to read its contents aloud.

"'From this day forward, angels and demons are to have a harmonious relationship together, regardless of the apparent differences in race. Should any conflicts exist in the future due to this reason, it shall be considered invalid, and shall not be of any concern between God and the Devil alike.'"

As the Head Angel spoke, Sherbet couldn't help but chuckle. Lost noticed this, and asked, "What's so funny, Sherbet?"

"Nothin', nothin' at all," Sherbet replied, pausing for a short while before replying, "S'just that the Head Angel's someone who rarely speaks, so… yeah. Heheh."

_You have a point there_, Lost thought. He then returned his focus on Wodahs, who had just finished reading out the scroll's contents.

"Everything is as stated," Wodahs ended. With this, he then closed the scroll and handed it over to Etihw, who then took it from Wodahs.

She then turned to her visitors, and then she spoke, "Now… everything that the Head Angel has read from this scroll," she says, as she raised her hand slightly so as to show them the scroll, "shall be effective starting today."

With much needed grace, Etihw slowly let go of the scroll that she held, allowing it to float. She then motioned for Kcalb to come closer, which the latter did. After a few moments, Etihw and Kcalb started to raise a hand slightly, their palms wide-open. As if on cue, the two diamonds slowly began to glow, releasing themselves from their once-dull state. At this point, the scroll had begun to glow as well, and the diamonds slowly began to approach the floating scroll.

Closer… _closer…_ **and closer…**

Until…

It wasn't long until the two diamonds finally collided, sandwiching the scroll, but instead of breaking and falling to pieces, they seemed to slowly meld into each other until they eventually formed a single, gray diamond. It was bigger than before, and this time, it shone really brightly—enough to light the whole room. Once the diamond had fully finished forming itself, Etihw then swiftly waved her hand upward, which made the diamond float upward until it slowly dissolved itself.

By this time, everyone's eyes were now affixed to the ceiling, where the diamond was supposed to be. Someone from one of the tables couldn't help but ask, "Where is the diamond now…?"

Etihw smiled, before answering. "That diamond… is now placed in the Great Hall, to serve as a reminder for both of us," she said, her head turning slightly so as to look at Kcalb, who only nodded quietly.

"And now that that's done… you may now enjoy the night away," she said, her hand gesturing to the long tables and what they contained. "Please enjoy yourselves."

As soon as someone screamed, "**DIG IN!**" everyone already knew what to do at that point. Soon, everyone was already eating, chatting with their companions in between bites and swallows.

"Finally!" Cranber exclaimed, her hands moving a bit too quickly. Before they knew it, Cranber already had a lot of food on her plate, so much that it looks as though she won't be able to finish it. Then again, this was Cranber, after all…

"Hey, hey, slow down, doll," Sherbet said, his face looking slightly disgusted at what he's seeing. In all honesty, he had no idea how such a girl was able to eat that many, let alone in one sitting. "You might get choked."

Cranber had an annoyed face upon hearing what Sherbet said. "What do you mean, choke?" she asked, her mouth still full. "I do this every day, and it hasn't happened to me, so why would it—ack!"

Sherbet then shook his head. "Told 'ya," he said, turning away slightly to hide the smirk on his face.

"Theeere, there," Rigatona chimed in, handing Cranber a glass of water. "But that aside, all of these taste really good~!"

"Mhm, yup, they do," Lost mumbled, biting on a piece of prosciutto.

"True, true," Ciel said quietly. "But…" she paused for a while, turning to look at the redhead.

"I still enjoy your cooking more, Lost," she said, a close-eyed smile appearing on her face.

"Gee, thanks," Lost replied, his scowl contrasting the slightly-red tint that appeared on his cheeks.

Yosaflame, however, chose to remain quiet all through-out, choosing to enjoy the food instead of talking while doing so. It didn't even bother him that Sherbet and the others were practically confronting Cranber on her food choices; no, it wasn't that. Rather, he just didn't want to.

"Cran, that is just… **UGH**! What kind of appetite do you have, even—!" Sherbet exclaimed.

"What exactly is wrong with my appetite, Sherbet?" Cranber asked, a confused look on her face. "Last time I checked, pineapple with hot sauce tastes **nice**! And I don't see what's wrong with iiit!"

"Don't even get started on that! And who even puts chocolate and seaweed together?! That is just… _ugh, disgusting_!" Sherbet continued, his face akin to that of someone wanting to vomit.

"Also, just… please tell me that _that thing_ you brought with you is **not** what I'm thinking," Sherbet added, his gaze focused on a suspicious-looking jar on Cranber's lap.

"What, you mean thiiis?" Cranber said, holding up the said jar. "This is a bat's corpse, all ground up~"

"Ugh, seriously… I want to puke…" Sherbet replied weakly.

Cranber rolled her eyes before talking. "What's it to you anyway?! It's not like you're the one who's going to eat it~ Or… could it be that you have a weak stomach? How… unmanly of you."

"Shut the fuck up," Sherbet muttered. "You're hopeless."

"Guys… let's not argue in front of food," Lost interrupted, which earned him glares from both Sherbet and Cranber.

"**MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!**"

"Wha—I just wanted to help," Lost muttered.

"There now, Lost," Rigatona said. "When it comes to Cranber and food, there's a veeeery small chance of winning an argument about it! But when it comes to Cranber and Sherbet arguing? Hopeless~!"

Lost couldn't help but shake his head. Rigatona had a point, now that he thought about it.

On a lighter note, Ciel and Yosaflame were talking about more pressing matters that did not involve Sherbet and Cranber's lovers' quarrels.

"So… do you think this pact has a high chance of lasting long?" Yosaflame asked, pushing his fork into a piece of meat that he proceeded to bring to his mouth.

Ciel gave a small shrug, then smiled. "No one can tell for sure. Though… I can't help but think that maybe, just maybe… this pact would be the best one, out of all the ones that had come and gone," she said, blinking a few times.

"Then again, that could change. Right?" she asked, looking at Yosaflame.

Yosaflame nodded in agreement. "… probably."

Ciel laughed softly. "Let's not talk about such now, can we? This is a day for celebration after all…" she said, dipping a cookie into a small bowl of chocolate. "And the food is nice."

* * *

While all of this was happening, Grora remained near the ceiling, her eyes scanning the room. By God's orders, her task was to check if everyone had arrived, and if there was an unfamiliar face in the crowd. It was also her task for that day to serve as a temporary guard, so as to not have anything disrupt the ceremony. She had originally been against the role, but upon hearing what the Head Angel was tasked to do, she ended up forcing herself to say yes.

_I'd rather do this than read a scroll in front of all these people_, she thought.

Brushing off her thoughts, she continued scanning the room so as to check that everything was in order. _Perfect_, she thought. _No seats unoccupied._

"And no one unfamiliar or unheard of, so far," she muttered, taking a moment to fix her bangs so that she could see clearly. It was at moments like these that Grora was suddenly thankful for having exceptional eyesight.

_They don't call me a sharpshooter for nothing_, she thought, letting out a small sigh.

It wasn't long until she heard a voice calling her name.

"Grora."

The said angel then turned to the source of the voice, which was none other than the Head Angel himself.

"Yeah? What's up, Head Angel?" she chimed, flying closer to Wodahs so as to make things more convenient. "You need something?"

To this, Wodahs shook his head. "No… nothing, nothing at all. I just wondered that maybe you should take a break."

Grora couldn't help but let out a laugh upon hearing this. "Really now, Head Angel… and here I thought you were going to ask something important!"

"Well, it is important for me," Wodahs muttered.

"Hm? Pardon, you sayin' something?" she asked.

"Ah, nothing… I apologize for disturbing you," Wodahs answered, hoping that she didn't hear what he had said earlier. "You can do whatever you want now, since the ceremony is over and done with. That's all, really."

"Pfffft—okay, fine. If it'll make you satisfied I'll see what I can do to enjoy myself~" Grora replied, winking.

"But! You better not blame me if something goes amiss! You'd be to blame, okay? Yeah?! Yeah!" she exclaimed as she flew further away from Wodahs, knowing that she won't get an answer from him quick.

Wodahs could only stare at her disappearing figure.

* * *

As everyone enjoyed themselves, regaining a festive mood of some sort, Etihw could only look at all of them with a smile. As much as she'd like to indulge, it would really be unlike her to partake in such occasions. Even more so since she knew that many important visitors were present, watching her every movement; maybe even every breath she took.

At that moment, she just felt really happy, even if she didn't show it. Happy that there was an air of peace and harmony that prevailed in the castle and in the Garden in general, happy that she had found someone who would help her—

Etihw couldn't forget the conversation they had just a few hours earlier.

* * *

"_Lady Etihw."_

_That familiar voice calling out to her made her snap out of her thoughts, as it was a sign that the visitor she had been waiting for had finally arrived. _

"_The Devil is here," the Head Angel, Wodahs, said, notifying God of their presence._

_Upon hearing this, Etihw looked at Wodahs, before turning to the person he called 'Devil'._

"_So…" Etihw began, a small smile forming on her lips._

"_We finally meet."_

_As Etihw said this, she took the time to observe the person she would be talking to. Simple enough, it seems, she thought. Unlike the past kings, this one, to her, didn't seem the slightest bit flashy; his overall garb was simple enough to not hurt anyone's eyes, yet elegant enough to be fit for a king._

"_Have a seat," Etihw said, her hands making a swift movement in order to lower down the reserved seat for him._

_Kcalb does what she says, sitting on the chair. As soon as he did so, the chair lifted itself slowly until it was on the same level as Etihw._

_Before anything, Etihw turned to Wodahs, and with a smile, she said, "Please remain outside this room. I'll call you when I need you."_

"_Understood," Wodahs replied, taking time to bow before seeing himself out. As soon as the door had shut, Etihw then turned to Kcalb._

_It took a long moment of silence before Etihw started talking._

"_Hello," she greeted, another smile forming on her face, so as to make the atmosphere less tense._

"_H-Hello," Kcalb replied, his voice husky._

"_Why that voice?" she asked, "Are you scared?"_

_Kcalb raised his head slightly to respond. "If I told you I was, would you send me out?"_

_Etihw couldn't help but smile wider, despite how she knew that it would be out of character for someone like her. She was actually surprised that she can still prevent herself from laughing at that moment; as to why, she'll never know._

"_Well, aren't you interesting," she says, tucking a bit of her hair behind her ears. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't… who knows."_

"_That… is exactly what I'm afraid of, in all honesty," Kcalb responded._

_At this point, Etihw realized that the person she was talking to was apparently really serious at that moment. It was also then that she realized that he actually wanted her to be straight to the point._

If that's what he wants, then so be it.

"_So, tell me," she began, her eyes looking straight into Kcalb's, "what made you want to enter into such a pact? And with my world, even?"_

_Etihw paused for a while, before leaning in slightly, her head resting on her hand, before continuing._

"_You do know that there have been many Devils before you, am I not correct?"_

"_Yes."_

"…_and you do know that they all ended up _miserably_… am I not correct?"_

"…_Yes. I've been informed of that beforehand," Kcalb replied, clasping his hands together._

"_Then if you already knew, then why?" she asked, tilting her head slightly._

_Kcalb started to avert his eyes, focusing their gaze on the window that was beside them. "… why, indeed…?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_Simple. Firstly, I want our worlds to have a strengthened relationship. Secondly, I heard that there would be disputes in your world due to… racial differences. And that, in my opinion, isn't a good thing. And last but not the least—"_

"… _because you were asked to?" Etihw interrupted, completing what he was about to say. Being God, she at least knew what he was thinking in the present._

"_That, too."_

"_Aren't you quite blunt, then," she responded, her eyes slightly narrowing._

"_I personally prefer to be blunt than to sugarcoat my words, thank you."_

"_A good attitude to have, I suppose."_

_Etihw shifted in her seat ever so slightly. _No doubt, this person is serious. But he's also light; not like how he appears to be.

The exact person I want to have in the castle.

But there's still one thing I haven't tested in him_, she continued thinking. At this point, she decided that it was time to play her final card._

I hope you're not someone who's focused on appearances.

"_Then… I'm sorry to say that no matter what you intend on offering, I won't really accept it, in all honesty," Etihw said, slightly anticipating the reaction he'd make. Of course none of what she said was true; however, she wanted to test him further on how he would take such situations; would he be enraged, or would he feel indifferent?_

_She was expecting him to be the former, but what she saw on his face was quite… unusual._

_He didn't seem enraged, but nor did he seem indifferent._

"_Is that so?" Kcalb asked._

_For a split moment, Etihw noticed Kcalb's expression change until it reverted back to how it had looked like before. "That's… quite a shame, then," Kcalb continued. "I suppose you can lower me down now, and I'd best be on my way back to my world."_

Eh?

"_Oh? Wouldn't you try to at least fight for what you want to happen, kind sir?" she asked._

_Kcalb then turned to her, a small smile appearing on his face. "Oh, no, it's not that, not that at all," he replied._

"_I just found it… well, forgive me for what I'm about to say, but I just found it… stupid."_

What?

"_Oh?" she muttered, her expression beginning to darken by the second. "Are you telling me that my decisions are stupid to you? Do you know who you're talking to?"_

_Kcalb smiled once more. "Of course I'm aware. You are God, am I right? Unless I've been wrong all along."_

"_But that aside, no, it's not that either. Rather… I just found it stupid that one would show to everyone how much in need they are, only to tell people willing to help them that they're not in need at all." Kcalb took some time to pause, before he continued, "Because In the end, you're not really fooling anybody else but yourself if that was the case. Not to mention that you're pulling your residents down along with you."_

"_And…" he added, a small sigh escaping his lips._

"… _the last thing I'd want to do is to work alongside someone that stupid and that prideful, thank you," Kcalb ended, blinking once. He suddenly felt like wanting to get out of the room upon realizing that he had talked more than usual. It suddenly made him the slightest bit uncomfortable._

But that doesn't matter_, he thought. _My job is done here.

"…_."_

"_Now, with all due respect, if you can lower me down…"_

Clap, clap, clap.

_Kcalb turned to the source of the sound, which, much to his surprise, came out from Etihw's own hands._

_She was clapping._

"…_.. what are you doing?"_

"_What else do you think I'm doing?" she asked, looking at him._

"_No, I mean, I know what you're doing, but… no, the more pressing question here is why are you doing that?"_

_Etihw took some time to let a smirk creep itself on her face before she responded, "Whatever deal you want to offer to me, I'm willing to accept it now."_

_Now it was Kcalb's turn to become confused. "Eh…?"_

_It was at this point that Etihw realized something; apparently, Kcalb seemed to have taken her words to heart. "You didn't actually believe a single thing that I said, did you?" Etihw asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I was only testing you."_

"_A-Ah, I see…" Kcalb replied, his face starting to look embarrassed._

"_I'll be honest with you. In all the time I've been the God of this Garden, and in all the time I've received so many offers from so many Devils, and in all the time I've used that sentence on them… I have never seen anyone use my own logic against me until you did."_

"_How so? It's actually very simple to begin with…"_

_Etihw chuckled. "Who knows? They were probably stupid. They all either stormed off, mad, while others just didn't care. That's how most of them went… until you came along."_

_It took Kcalb a few moments to let Etihw's words sink in._

"_So… wait, are you telling me that…"_

"_Yes," she said breathlessly._

"_Whatever you ask, I'd be more than willing to fully discuss it with you."_

"…"

"_Ah, and before I forget," she added, extending a hand out. "I am Etihw, God of the Gray Garden. And you are…?"_

_It took him some time before he responded and extended a hand in return._

"… _Kcalb."_

* * *

The contents of that first conversation was something that Etihw believed would stay fresh in her mind for a long, long time to come. It had also been a good thing that she managed to talk to him a bit more after that conversation; otherwise, she would most likely be fooled by his appearance. In the end, the Devil wasn't really as scary as how he presented himself to be; truth be told, Etihw found him to be a slightly intimidating introvert with a great mind. Then again, there was the possibility that he was just fooling her, but that idea was something she considered farfetched for now.

She didn't really know why, but for some reason, there was something about him that made her feel a sudden influx of emotions. But what made her surprised the most was how easily she had been willing to trust him. It was a completely new concept to her, seeing as how she had never fully put her trust in anyone before, save for a few attendants who had served her for a very long time.

Just as she turned to her left, however, she suddenly noticed that the dark-clad Devil was nowhere in sight. She hated to admit it, but apparently she had been so immersed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed him leave her side.

Seeing as she didn't really have anything to do anymore, she decided to look for him, her curious thoughts giving her the drive to do just what she needed.

No one had noticed their God leave the staircase that night.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the castle, a certain white-haired Devil stood by one of the many open windows that could be located at various points in each floor within the castle.

Looking outside the window, Kcalb couldn't help but close his eyes as he felt the cool breeze enter the room. He had decided to leave the main staircase simply because he wasn't able to handle the attention of a lot of people all at once. Sure, it was to be expected that many people would begin squinting their eyes at him or talking about him, but he didn't expect that they would be that many.

As it had turned out, he had underestimated this Garden a bit too much for his own good.

He was suddenly thankful that the Garden's God, Etihw, had showed him around the castle a few hours prior to the ceremony that had taken place that evening. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to have a small escape plan away from the judging looks of the visitors during that moment. That, and he wasn't really the type who enjoyed crowds—something that even Kcalb wished he could change.

But that didn't matter right now. To him, what mattered the most was the fact that everything was okay now; everything was now at peace, the pact was now over and done with, and he can now bask all by his lonesome. Well, save for perhaps a few appearances alongside God and probably a few conversations with his brother and the other castle attendants as well, but other than that, he was already free to do whatever he wished.

He could be by his lonesome now, probably sleeping, or—

"So this is where you went, after all."

His thoughts were stopped by a fragile-sounding voice that came from a few feet behind him. Sighing wearily, he turned himself slowly so as to acknowledge the new presence in the room.

Ah… he thought, relieved upon seeing who it was. _It was just God, after all._

"… yes. Is there something else I need to do out there?" he asked, his voice quiet, almost like a whisper.

At this, Etihw shook her head slowly. "No, nothing at all," she replied, "I was just wondering where you disappeared to, that's all."

"Oh." _Thank goodness_, he thought. _At least I won't need to get out of here for now._

"But now that you've mentioned it," Etihw muttered, taking a few more steps towards him, "why did you leave?"

"…." Kcalb remained silent. He didn't want to just blatantly tell her that he was—

"Shy?" she asked, although deep inside, she had actually wanted to pass that off as a statement of a fact more than a question.

"… in all honesty, yes," Kcalb replied, looking away so as to avoid her gaze.

"Well, aren't you adorable that way," she said, chuckling. She then walked over to his side and said, "That's okay."

"… no. No it's not."

"And why do you think so?"

"Don't you see?" Kcalb began, his eyes focused on the star-filled sky. "People are watching me, and they're probably watching you as well. No…. it's just that…"

"You're afraid of letting them down, I presume?" Etihw said, her smile disappearing from her face as her mouth slowly turned itself into a rigid line. With a heavy sigh, Kcalb nodded, confirming whatever thoughts she had.

"Don't worry, I am as well," she whispered, her gaze becoming half-lidded as her eyes showed off a small gleam of light due to the moonlight that entered through the very window they had open.

"…oh?" Kcalb mouthed, a bit surprised. _A God? Afraid?_

"Yes. And I know what you're thinking; that a God like me isn't expected to be afraid of anything. Well, don't include me in that stereotype," she said, her voice suddenly teeming of coldness; so cold that Kcalb felt as though anything she would say in that tone would make one feel as if ice had struck their heart.

"I'm sorry," Kcalb muttered. _Though I do wish you would stop reading my mind_, he thought.

"No harm done," Etihw said. Kcalb, however, wasn't convinced.

A long silence followed after that. Until…

"I don't really have any advice of some sort to say to you." Kcalb almost jumped at Etihw's sudden attempt to break the silence that permeated in the room.

"But if anything, then… I just wanted to reassure you," she continued, placing her hand on Kcalb's shoulder, "that it's perfectly okay to be afraid. It's normal, believe me. Also…" Etihw opened her mouth so as to speak more, but no words came out.

"Ah, nothing. Forget about it," she ended, looking at him. For some reason, Kcalb felt as though there was something else, something important that she had wanted to say, but he was sure that he would never really find out what it was. At least not tonight.

"That aside… I'll be going back now," Etihw added, making her way towards the door of that room. "Will you not come with me?" she asked, looking over her shoulder as she waited for an answer.

"…"

Kcalb can only remain in silence, contemplating on whether or not he would get out of that room.

He then let out a simple, "I will follow you in a bit… **God**."


	5. Beyond the Garden

**IV**

**-Beyond the Garden-**

The Gray Village was then shrouded in darkness, with each household's door shut tight. It was quite silent in that section of the Garden that night. But if one were informed of a certain gathering happening not far away from the village, then it wouldn't be that surprising—why, if anyone actually stayed at home during that night, then that would be more unusual, considering how practically everyone from near and far was invited to the great banquet.

Sure enough, while the village remained silent, the lone castle in the Garden, Blancblack Castle, had quite the festive atmosphere. It was extremely bustling with energy, and it was also quite well-lit, which would be a new sight for anyone who remained outside the castle, since the castle was usually very quiet and dark. In fact, it was usually very dark in that area to the point that no one would see the castle despite its extremely large build. But tonight was different. Everyone was celebrating and enjoying themselves. The sight of the castle in itself was quite calming to look at, seeing how everything seemed to be perfectly normal and in place. It was these types of moments that one wished to last forever.

One can only hope that it really will.

As the castle remained upbeat that night, little did the residents know that they weren't the only ones who reveled in the castle's current state.

In fact, there were also some otherworldly beings who were currently serving as either a witness to the event, or as someone who loved talking about it.

* * *

One of them was a simple-looking man who saw everything from a large, round mirror that had almost the same size as the diamond-shaped window in Blancblack Castle's Great Hall.

"Everyone seems so happy in the Gray Garden… that's a good thing."

With a gentle smile, the man put his hands over the mirror, his fingers caressing its cold, smooth surface as he continued to admire the sight before his eyes. If one were to peer into the mirror at that moment, one would be able to see Blancblack Castle and its highly-festive atmosphere. As soon as he had finished doing so, he then rose from his seat and walked up to the large glass window that graced one of his room's walls at that moment.

As he looked over his window, he couldn't help but think of the Gray Garden more after seeing its castle in his mirror. In fact, instead of being really happy, he was actually feeling a bit worried for the castle and the world that contained it. Despite the castle's current atmosphere, he knew to himself that it wouldn't always stay like that. Yes, at that moment… the man was starting to worry about how the Gray Garden would end up a few decades from now.

It was at times like these that the man detested his ability to see what would happen to the future; as much as he was scared of going into details, let alone thinking about such things, it can't be helped, no thanks to this ability. It was due to this that he had to face the harsh reality of the world: that everything had an end, be it happy or sad. No, it wasn't that that he was afraid of; rather, he was afraid of how such things ended. He was fully aware that everything had an end, a boundary of some sort, but it troubled him that some things tend to end in a gruesome manner.

It was something that he didn't like seeing. Not one bit.

With a sigh, the man continued to have his eyes closed like always, as flashes of the Gray Garden's future appeared in his mind. It took him quite a few minutes before he had to crack his eyes open, not only because of what he saw, but also because he had the feeling that he was being watched. His smile slowly curved into a frown. At that moment, he had seen a lot of things… all of them quite urgent.

But as much as he would like to show Etihw what he had seen, he had somehow decided not to. _Yes_, he thought, clasping his hands together. _This is all for the best. She… has to face everything. And… this could be her chance to try defying fate. Even if it'll hurt her in the end._

_Even if I'll get hurt seeing her in that state._

The man then lowered his head in sadness.

_I wish you the best, my dear._

As he tried to calm himself down, he turned his head ever so slightly so as to look at someone from above.

* * *

The sky-colored eyes of a gray-clad girl with flashy-looking hair widened upon seeing someone look up at her.

_Seems like he already caught me, aye?_ She thought, crossing her sleeved arms as she floated from above. _As expected from the omnipotent one~_

_Oh well, I've done my business. No use staying here longer_, she thought, a smirk gracing her pale face. With this, she then proceeded to float away from the glass window that she was peering into just a few minutes ago. She'd seen everything; the mirror, Blancblack Castle being in frenzy, a bit of the man's thoughts… it was more than enough information for her for that day alone. It was enough for her to have something to make fun of.

_Gray Garden's in yet another pact, huh..._

That thought alone was enough to send the girl laughing so hard, to the point that she had to stop herself from gliding any further just so that she wouldn't tip herself off-balance due to being contained in so much laughter. As soon as she had managed to calm herself down, she then continued to glide along the sky, chuckling every now and then.

Her surroundings, unlike her, were looking extremely bleak in appearance. Various rocks and bits of land floated almost everywhere, and everything was in a dull shade of either gray or brown. In between these rocks, there were large portals that were surrounded with flashes of white lights. These portals were the ones that served as doors towards entirely different worlds, each having a portal of its own. All portals, however, looked identical, so one had to have a large knowledge of the universe's map in order to be able to switch between worlds manually without getting lost. As of late, only Gods can navigate through the worlds in this manner. Any powerful being who wasn't a God had to exert a lot of effort and magic to create a small portal of their own.

As the girl entered one portal, she couldn't hold in her thoughts.

"Hah! So that Etihw's made a pact for the nth time—really now!" she snickered, a wide grin appearing on her face. "She'll never learn, will she? No wonder her world has only a few residents; can't even rule decently to land a single king! Is she polygamous or something? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Her laughter was so loud that the birds that flew along with her had to fly somewhere else due to the disturbance that it caused.

"Wait'll the others hear this! It'll be a big hit!"

The girl then slowed down upon seeing that she had reached her destination: a world with a dreary-looking façade. Brushing off the thick clouds, the girl continued to glide lower until she reached the world's true insides; that is, a place full of bright-colored pathways and rainbows. Although the place in itself actually had a few dark areas sporting antiquated buildings here and there, it was pretty much a colorful world all in all.

The girl's eyes wandered over that world until it found an antique-looking castle surrounded by thin, dark clouds. She then proceeded to glide over there. As soon as she had done so, she started to fly around the castle so as to look for any open windows that it had. But after a few minutes of searching, she found not a single open window.

_Seems like I'll have to get in the hard way, eh? Reaaaaally now!_

She was just about to position herself when all of a sudden, a window swiftly swung itself fully open. After this, a voice came from inside the castle.

"… you could've just called for me."

Upon hearing the voice, the girl rolled her eyes in response. "Are you kidding me? The last time I did that, you screamed at me and told me that it was improper!"

The owner of the voice, a dull-looking man holding a cigarette, appeared from the newly-opened window. He took a moment to puff out some smoke, before saying, "I'd rather you do that than smash yet another window of this castle." He sighed for a bit, then added, "If I hadn't stopped you, then that would be the tenth window you've destroyed in this week alone."

The girl smirked for a moment. "Good to see you still have sense in you, then~" After saying this, she then proceeded to enter through the open window. The man stepped aside so as to let her in.

"… so what do you want this time?"

"Geez, I come here after a long time of not doing so, then that's the first thing you ask me? You're the wooooooooooorst! And to think that I missed youuu, so mean!" the girl exclaimed, pouting as she crossed her arms, her long-sleeves moving along.

"…is your definition of 'a long time' equaling to less than twenty-four hours?" the man sighed out, looking the slightest bit exasperated.

The girl proceeded to give the man a look that said, 'What the fuck?' before she retorted, "Duh, anything more than one is considered to be a lot. So since that's more than one hour, it should be—"

"All right, all right, I get your point," the man interrupted, knowing that arguing with the girl wouldn't get them anywhere. He then proceeded to throw out the remains of his cigarette, his hands now in his pockets once that was done. "So… what do you want?"

"Hmm? Well..." the girl began, lifting up her right hand in an attempt to cover up the giggle that was starting to form itself in her mouth. "Have you heard of what's happenin' in the Gray Garden? Aye?"

This time, it was the man's turn to give her the same look she had given him earlier. "Ah… the pact? Yes." _Don't tell me she came all the way here just to bother me about this…_

While the girl was disappointed that he had been ahead of her in terms of news, she didn't let this fact bring down her enthusiasm. "Yes…" the girl responded, her voice muffled by her coat sleeve covering her mouth. "Pffft… YESSSS! EXACTLYYY~!" she blurted out, her previous giggle turning into a huge fit of laughter. "Doesn't it make you laugh?!"

The man raised an eyebrow, looking confused. "I… don't quite see what's funny about it, sorry." _Really now…_

"Y-You don't have a sense of humor, do you?!" she said in between bits of laughter. "Don't you find it funny that she's having a pact for like, the millionth time?!"

The man pulled out a new cigarette out of nowhere. "I find it more pitiful than funny, to be honest," he said, as he put the cigarette in his mouth. He then proceeded to pull out a metal lighter from his pocket, opening it so as to light the cigarette.

This made the girl stop laughing, her eyes starting to stare at the man. "… I see. Tch, how boring!" she exclaimed, frowning. "But aye, I do agree she's pitiful~ Can't even stay put with a single king, aye!"

"…."

"Well? Ain't I right?"

"… you just want me to make fun of her, don't you?"

"Geez, whatever!" the girl huffed out, becoming irritated all of a sudden. A few seconds later, the man found her floating outside the window so as to leave. Before the girl left, however, she turned to scream, "You're boring! **BOOOOOORING**!"

Hearing this, the man simply stared at her disappearing figure. _You always say the same thing every time you leave my castle, idiot._

With a sigh, the man focused his eyes on the window, and after a few moments, the window began to close, locking itself in the process. As soon as it had finished, he then turned his back to it, taking a few steps to a nearby staircase. He proceeded to climb it, until it reached a large, wooden door. The door opened itself, leading the man to an antique, office-like room. The room really was like an office in many aspects—it had a large desk containing a few papers, and a few 'file cabinets' here and there. There were also a few bookshelves that looked like they haven't been touched in years, with its contents lined up neatly.

The man walked over to the chair behind the desk, sitting down on it. Crossing his arms, the man shifted a bit in his chair, his mind filled with nothing but what he had been talking about with the girl earlier.

_Don't you find it funny that she's having a pact for like, the millionth time?!_

He couldn't help but start to feel uneasy as soon as he let that single statement sink in. What she had said was true any way one looked at it; it hadn't been a secret to him and the other Gods that Etihw had been at this pact for way too long… and unfortunately, most of them had ended on bitter notes and had accomplished very little for her and her world.

He remembered those times that Etihw would come to his castle, her cold façade starting to break as soon as they would start talking about how each pact had failed, about how tired she was from all of it, and how she had once thought of giving up on finding someone suitable for her world. He also remembered how all of those meetings had ended with her being in his embrace as he tried to give her a few words of encouragement, and how she would always respond with the same set of words:

_I'll be fine._

As soon as he had heard of the new pact, he started to feel worried for Etihw. Worried, not because of how much of a success or a failure the pact would be, but rather, if she would still be able to carry yet another heavy burden upon her. But at the same time, he knew that even if he wanted to, he didn't really have that much of a right to fully help her out in any way. And besides, it was also highly likely that Etihw wouldn't want him to interfere with her world's affairs, given her somewhat prideful attitude.

The best thing he could do for her, however, was to hope for the best, pray, and to be someone she'd be willing to cry out on or talk to if ever the need arises.

As he watched bits of smoke puff out from his cigarette, his eyes wandered to the ceiling above him.

_Will you be okay, Etihw?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a muffled sound in the distance.

_Eh?_

"Pfffft…"

The man then turned his head to one of the windows behind him, only to see the girl back at his castle yet again, albeit outside.

"Pfffff—**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA**! So that's how ya' look like when deep in thought! Pfft—oh my goodness!"

"Really now… don't you have anything better to do?" He furrowed his brows in annoyance upon hearing that same laugh from earlier. Just when he thought that she had already left him in peace, the girl had come back to prove him wrong.

"Aye?" she uttered, her laughter now silenced. "Weeeell, I'm bored, so I can do whatever I waaaant~! Ain't nothing you can do 'bout it~"

At this rate, the man had put his fingers to his temple, massaging them in irritation. "Just… leave already."

"**Not gonna!**" she retorted, making a face. "'Sides, I haven't even heard your say on the matter!"

His eyes slightly widened upon hearing this. He then had his chair fully turned so that his whole body was facing her direction. "If I tell you my thoughts… will you leave?"

The girl crossed her arms and looked up, her face seemingly deep in thought. "Maybe I will, maybe I won't~ Who knows?"

… … _such a pain in the neck… I'm sure he's seeing you right now_… he thought, his lips in a tight frown as he contemplated on whether or not he should give in to her request. However, it didn't take him long to realize that no matter what he decides to do; chances are that she won't leave the castle anyways.

… _Ah, fuck._

"…fine, then. I'll give you what you want."

The girl bounced ever so slightly upon hearing his answer. "Reaaaally?! Yay!" she exclaimed, before crossing her legs to make it look as though she was sitting in mid-air. "Now tell me 'bout it~"

The man shifted in his seat, taking a moment to puff out more smoke from his cigarette before speaking. "…she may or may not have a reason for getting into another pact."

"…."

"…."

"Well? That's all you're gonna say?"

The man simply rolled his eyes. "What, did you expect to hear a long speech from me?"

"No no no **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**!" the girl puffed out angrily. "I mean, like, aren't ya' gonna tell me what the possible reasons are? Or like, what led you to think that way? COME ON! You're usually detailed, so I expect ya to talk more than just that!"

"My apologies," he began, removing his cigarette from his mouth, "but that's all you're going to get from me. Besides, that world isn't even a property of mine, so what business would I even have with it in the first place?"

"…. **WHAAAAAT?!** But, but, but—"

"No 'buts'. Now if you'll excuse me," he muttered, rising up from his seat, "I still have other things I need to attend to. Important things that don't concern you." And with that, he proceeded to walk towards the door that led to the room's exit.

"Wha—? Nonononono, **come baaack!** I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry for annoying you! Just—**aaaagh!**" the girl wailed, upon realizing that her screams were left unheard once she heard the door close. Now left alone, the girl crossed her arms and pouted slightly.

_I just wanted to spend time with you…!_

Shaking her head in annoyance, the girl decided to leave the castle for real, making her way towards the world's exit.

* * *

"Ah… she finally left," the man muttered, sighing as he went back to his 'office', making sure that she wasn't there anymore. It was finally quiet again; he preferred it this way, since silence is what he considers to be the best sound in world. This was also one of the reasons why he never left his castle; or even if he did, it was quite rare, and even in those rare times, it would still be interrupted by extremely noisy people—

"Helllllooooo~~!" a voice greeted cheerily, along with the sound of a door being opened.

_Speak of the __**Devil**__._

Not him again… he didn't even bother to knock, he thought, grimacing for a bit. Shaking his head slowly, he proceeded to turn to the door, where the visitor was at the moment.

"So, it's you… what do you want this time? No, more like… how long have you been there?"

With a wide grin, the said visitor went on to fully enter the room; he was a Devil, clad in a formal outfit of some sort that was mostly black with a bit of red on the undersides, more specifically under his cape. His cape took on a motif that was similar to that of a bat's, even having 'wings' on both ends. His horns were also quite… absurd, resembling that of swirled wood; the type that one would see in scary-looking forests.

"How rude! Not even going to greet me properly; what kind of God are youuu?" the visitor asked, pouting slightly.

"Shut up. I'm supposed to be the one fussing over how you just entered here without even asking for permission. And," he paused for a bit to let out a puff of smoke from his mouth, "you were eavesdropping as far as I know. Who's the rude one now?"

"Tut, tut.. well… I guess you got me!" the Devil replied cheerily.

_Such an idiot… how did this person even become a Devil? And __**my **__Devil, nonetheless_, he thought to himself. Then again, he decided that that was the same as asking how a certain flashy girl became a God. "That aside, I'll ask you again. How long have you been here?"

"How long… hmm, a few seconds before you noticed I was here?" he replied.

"Liar."

"O-kay, okay~ Hm, just before you started talking to someone~!"

"…how much did you hear?"

"Not tellin' ya!"

_This is irritating_, he thought. "So what do you want?"

"Why'd you wanna know?" the Devil asked, not taking off the stupid-looking grin on his face.

"Because I—"

"Never mind!" the Devil interrupted, chuckling for a bit. "'Sides, even if I told you, you wouldn't give it to me anyways, now, would youuuu?"

"…"

"Anyways~ I still have other stuff to do! Bye-bye, Mr. Eyebags!" And with a swish of his cape, the Devil was gone, and the room was silent again.

"… what a waste of time," he muttered, as he threw out his cigarette, which had already run out by now. _I wonder what he's up to now_, he thought, grabbing a nearby pack of cigarettes so as to light up a new one.

_He better not be doing anything inappropriate… then again…_

* * *

Meanwhile, another world's portal had started to open, light shining brightly from its opening for a few moments, before eventually dimming down due to it closing. In came the world's owner, who was a certain flashy-looking girl who used floating as a means of transportation, somehow. Given the events that had transpired that day from her visit to other worlds, her mood had somehow been lifted up. But it didn't last long, unfortunately; right now, she was bored again.

"Tch… that guy!" she said to herself with a pout. "Takes things too seriously! **Grrrrrr—**!" she fumed. Not wanting to think about it any longer, she decided to push these thoughts away and flew her way deeper into her world.

Her world looked normal, somehow. It wasn't that dreary, but it wasn't that cheerful-looking either. It was, brutally speaking, plain. The only thing that made it stand out, however, was that conflicts were almost everywhere. It's as though every part of that world had hatred; a specific type of hatred, to be exact. It greatly contrasted the Gray Garden; if angels and demons got along there peacefully, then this world was the exact opposite of that. In this world, demons and angels alike couldn't last a day without fighting each other. Why exactly, they had no idea. Is this because they were led by a God who's technically mad in her ways of thinking?

No, it wasn't that. This is what is considered 'normal' by the other Gods' standards. That is to say that if the angels and demons in a world fought and never got along, then a world is good as normal.

This current state, however, explains why the God of this world found Etihw's world laughable.

"Why does she even try to pull off such, anyway," she mutters, trying to hold back a chuckle.

_Ahahaha, how egotistical of her to go against the norms. As if she could change anything with that!_

_Or maybe she's trying to grab attention by trying to be different._ At this thought, the gray-clad God strongly shook her head. _Ugh! Must not think of unimportant thoughts! No, no,** no**!_

"More importantly… I wonder what's been happening while I was go~ne!" she thought aloud, a wide smirk forming itself on her face. Now that she thought about it, just before she went off to visit the other worlds, she had left a pile of duties for her subordinates in her own castle. Realizing this, she proceeded to continue flying until she caught sight of her castle.

Not even bothering to find the entrance, she sped up and proceeded to smash through the first window that her eyes came across.

Within the castle, a loud **SMASH!** could be heard as she forcefully made her way inside the castle, alerting the angels of her presence.

As soon as she was inside, she slowed down her pace, lowering herself to the floor. As she did so, one of her higher-ranking angels—a man with short hair and round-edged glasses—approached her. "Welcome back, our God."

"Yeah, yeah, sure," she replied, straightening herself up while dusting off her coat so as to check for any bits of broken glass. "So, where're the others?"

"They're in the main office, if I remember correctly."

"Mm-kay~!" she replied, her voice slightly high-pitched. "For the meantime, get someone to clean that mess up for me, would 'ya?" she ordered, gesturing to the bits of glass on the floor.

"Understood. Before anything, howeve—"

"Gooood, good!" she replied, cutting him off. She then proceeded to make her way upstairs, all while ignoring the rolled parchment that the angel was supposed to give her.

* * *

"Ohhhh, man! What if God hears about this?" a redheaded angel said, with a panicked tone.

A girl with long purple hair cupped her face with her hands, looking worried. "No good! If God finds out that an angel or a demon refuses to fight, then—!"

"They're dead. For sure."

"Oh no!"

"Calm down, both of you," the Head Angel says, with a strict expression. "If that's what has to befall upon them, there's nothing we can do. That's their fault; if the law says that you fight each other on sight, then they have to follow that. Otherwise, they should know what happens next."

"Head Angel…" the purple-haired angel says, frowning for a moment.

The redhead sighs, before saying, "This reminds me of her, somehow… I wonder why God didn't kill her. Turned her into a Devil, instead."

The Head Angel frowned. "That's a completely different case from what we are tackling at the moment. We shouldn't be even talking about that; it's unimportant."

"B-But still! They were both different; that could be applied—"

"Enough!"

"Is there a problem here, my ladies~?"

At the sound of their God's voice, all three angels turned to face him. It had slightly startled them, considering how they were expecting God to come in the form of a lady and not the opposite; then again, their God has a tendency of being quite… unpredictable, at times.

"Have you checked on our beloved residents, like always~?" he asked, crossing his arms while shifting his gaze between the three of them.

"A-Ah, God…" the purple-haired angel began, fidgeting ever so slightly, "there's a bit of a problem…"

"Hm?"

"Uhm, uh, God, you see, uh!" the redhead interrupted, scratching the back of her head with a grin on her face. "We've… kinda sorta encountered another pair that refuse to, uh… uhm…"

"—kill each other," the Head Angel finished.

"W-ell, what's the problem with that?!" he asked, rolling his eyes for a moment before having a completely annoyed expression on his face. "Tell me, my dears, what is the ultimate rule in this world again?"

"Uh, I—we, uh…"

"**An-swer me**?" he slowly uttered, his expression darkening . "Or have you completely…** for-got-ten**~?"

Seeing as how her subordinates refused to answer properly, the Head Angel decided to take it upon her to say those words that their God was asking for. "If an angel and a demon refuse to fight each other, then they shall be executed regardless of their reason."

"Good, good, very good, my dear Head Angel~" he said, plastering a smile on his face. "So I assume you all know what to do with that, now, hm?"

"Yes, our God."

"Y-Yes, yes, our God…"

"Perfeeeect~!" their God replied, their words laced with a tone that was way too playful for the situation. "I don't want you all to follow that idiot Etihw's example, do you hear?"

"Etihw?" the redhead asked. "You mean, that long-haired God from another world? What's happened?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Why, you're a high-ranking angel, you're supposed to know that already!" he huffed out, frustrated. "Or haven't you all heard?"

"Truth be told, our God… we don't know about it," the Head Angel answered. "I deeply apologize for our ignorance. Forgive us."

"Tsk. Forgiven, then. Thaaaat aside! I won't go into the details for all of you, but if anything, well. That idiot Etihw's working through a new, dare I say, 'pact' again," he said, emphasizing on the word pact by using his fingers as quotation marks, "all in all trying to make angels and demons live in harmony, for world peace, _blah blah blah_, that stuff!"

"I-I see…"

"See?! Isn't it annoying?!" their God remarked, putting a hand to his head. "Just the thought of it is giving me a headache, **my goodness**!" The three angels just nodded their heads in agreement.

"Anyways, I'll be off now! That problem, take care of that if you please!" he said. And with that, he walked out of the room with a dramatic expression on their face. With their God gone, the three angels proceeded to go about their work, some of them shaking their heads. The Head Angel, however, could feel someone else's presence during those moments.

* * *

_So that was what he was telling me about a few days ago…_ a certain female Devil thought, as she flew away from the opened window of her God's castle. Just now, she had heard her God talking about the pact with the other angels. Truth be told, it wasn't really new information for her; as a matter of fact, the Devil involved in the pact is quite a close acquaintance of hers, so of course, said Devil had somehow confided in her about this matter. And, as she had expected, not everyone took it positively. That, in her opinion, was quite understandable.

What she didn't like, however, was how they kept mocking the God behind the said pact. While she doesn't know anything about who the involved God was—hell, they haven't really met nor talked to each other, not even once—it disappointed her how _certain beings_ were being very judgmental over this.

She had somehow expected them to have a bit more class, somehow. Then again, she shouldn't be so surprised. If they had mocked her before, then surely, they can mock others as well.

As much as she would want to tell this to her fellow Devil, she was already sure that said Devil was probably under a lot of pressure and expectations. As a friend—if anyone can even call it that—she wouldn't want to add up to that by telling him about petty opinions that wouldn't really matter.

_Ah, how disappointing_, she thought.

Flying over her world so as to proceed to her own castle, she looked over it and saw many unpleasant things, things that wouldn't exist if such unreasonable discord wasn't implanted in the first place. If the world she lived in would be similar to her friend's world, would it still be this unpleasant? Or would it be an improvement? Given the nature of her God, she reckons that she'll never get the answer to that. And besides… it would be too late, given how this system had already hurt a lot of feelings, and taken a lot of lives that could've lasted for a while longer. All because of unreasonable racial differences.

_Such rare peace must be protected… _

_I hope it ends well for the both of you._

"Heeeeey~"

A familiar voice interrupted the Devil from her thoughts. Wearing a serious expression, she stopped her flight and faced the God of her world.

"…what is it?"

"Don't play dumb, you Devil~" she replied, her eyes twinkling with mischief, "I knooooow that you were listening in on us earlier~!"

The Devil crossed her arms in irritation. "So I did. What is it to you, then?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all, no harm done, of course~! After all, I do the same to you whenever you talk ill of me to that bitch of yours!" she replied with a wide, irritating grin on her face.

The Devil gripped her morning star, her expression darkening upon hearing her God's words. "Don't you dare talk about my wife like that."

"Ahahaha~ yeah, yeah, whatever, you two make me oh so **sick**! You both make me want to puke with that thing you call 'chemistry' between the two of you~" she replied with a smile.

"That aside, I gotta go~ No time to deal with idiots like you, yeah? Bye bye~!" Upon saying this, the God plummeted higher into the sky until she was out of the Devil's eyeshot.

_I want to kill her badly… maybe someday; I will get the chance to do such,_ the Devil thought, continuing on her way.

* * *

In another world, everything was at peace, aesthetically-speaking. It was brightly-colored and fully-decorated, having a kind of flourish that was unique to them. Flowers and gardens were its defining trait; almost all of this world's areas were covered with gardens containing flowers that were almost always in full bloom. But this served as nothing more than, well, a slight cover-up for what the world really was in its entirety; sure, it wasn't hell-ridden, but it sure didn't feel heavenly, either. Of course, angels and demons are in conflict, but on a much lighter scale.

This time, however, residents are faced with an almost irresponsible God and a kind, caring Devil.

"How are things going on over here?" their God, a man clad in different shades of blue and a single crown atop his head, asked. "Make sure those lilies are at their best state, if you may!"

"Yes, sir," the attendants responded as they continued to place the numerous vases filled with blue lilies to their assigned positions.

"Ah… … aren't you being a bit harsh on them …?" the Devil, a young lady clad in hues of pink that greatly contrasted her God, asked.

"How am I being harsh, my dear~?" he asked, smiling at her. "I just want my place to be as beautiful as ever! After all, you never if a visitor would come by; why, if they catch this place in an unpleasant state, then I don't think I'd be able to handle it!"

"I understand the sentiment, as I do the same thing as well, but…" she paused, taking time to look around her surroundings before continuing. "…you've been asking them to beautify this place for the past two hours. Really now."

"Shush, let it be! I don't care how long I have to make them work, as long as everything is perfect!"

"You're still the same as ever, I see…" the Devil sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "You should really focus on the world's residents than on things like these. Do you even try to take note if there's anything bad happening at the moment?"

"I know, I know! I never disappoint with regards to that if I remember correctly! Loosen up for once, dear, please!" he replied, putting his arms around her.

Upon noticing how close they were, the Devil blushed slightly, averting her eyes. "I-I'm not uptight… it's just that you're a bit too loose with these things, you know?"

"I assure you, I'm not! That asi—"

"Ah, excuse me!" an attendant said, calling out their God's attention.

Hearing this, the blue-haired God looked towards the attendant, who was now walking towards them. "Yes? What is it, what is it?"

"Ah, uh… this just came in!" the attendant responded, handing over a roll of parchment. "It's addressed to you, sir…"

"I see, I see… let me read this," he muttered, waving the attendant off. The Devil, still in the God's arms, peeked over the contents of the parchment. "Ah… an invitation?"

"Seems so," the God replied. "Apparently, this is a discussion regarding a fellow God's pact?"

"Eh?" the Devil uttered, her eyes wide in curiosity. "What pact?"

"Ah, about that… you see, a fellow God seems to have made peace with their Devil, somehow."

The pink-haired Devil smiled upon hearing this. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Not for all, somehow. It's hard to explain, really," the God replied, scratching his head. "Personally, I don't really mind or care whatsoever. That's her world and I don't want to have anything to do with it. Though I don't really see why she insists on making two different races get along..."

"I-I see…"

"That aside! This isn't until a few weeks, though, so I can get this one off my mind for now~"

The Devil grimaced. "There you go again…"

* * *

In another world, everything was on fire. Well, almost everything. To be honest, only part of it was actually in flames; however, the heat emissions in that world were more than enough for anyone to say that it was literally burning inside it. One can wonder how some residents of that world could even wear thick clothing despite its hellish temperature. Then again, that was their world after all; of course its own residents would be able to adapt to such an environment after just a very brief period of time.

While those areas in flames were considered to be inhabited by dangerous demons, the other areas were not that deadly; they could even be considered safe, somehow. Even more so since those said areas were guarded by an angel who wielded two golden swords that were most likely hot to the touch. No one knows for sure. For those who were unlucky enough to be sliced by those swords no longer lived right after.

In the main castle, there resided the God who looked over this world full of heat. He didn't exactly look over them, however; as a matter of fact, he was quite lazy.

Not even when his Head Angel delivered an important letter to him; as soon as he received it, he only read it for a brief moment, then proceeded to toss it away in a pile of never-ending documents that should've been cleared up weeks ago.

"Whatever that Etihw is up to, I honestly don't give a damn," the God had said to his Head Angel. Crossing his legs on his throne, he continued, "Besides, even if I didn't agree with her, it's not like any of us could change her mind, given how much pride she has in her skills. I'll honestly laugh at anyone who dares to defy that lady."

The Head Angel could only nod as her God, a man with long hair and a cape that literally shone like a thousand suns, continued to go on with regards to his distaste towards current events.

"… to think they honestly expect me to care about such things, how stupid, isn't it?" he ended, adjusting his glasses for a moment. "What do you think?"

She was silent for a moment before she replied bluntly, "… admit it, sir, you just do not want to attend to such gatherings."

"Ahahaha! Exactly. Thank you very much for your input," the God replied with a laugh. "Yes, yes… which reminds me, have you seen my Devil? I haven't seen him for quite a while now, really."

The green-clad angel clasped her hands together—thank goodness she didn't bring her weapons with her at the moment—before answering. "From what I last heard, sir, he hasn't come out of his castle since… two days ago, I believe."

"That wimp," he replied, smirking as he rested his elbow on the throne's armrest, putting his head in his hand. "I'm sure it's because of the insults I gave him back then. But he'll recover, I'm sure of that. Let him be, let him be~"

"…. As you wish, o God," the angel replied. With a bow, she excused herself from his presence.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in another world, a man was watching the numerous mirrors he had in another room within his castle. He had just finished asking some of his angels to deliver the message that they would have a gathering of some sort with regards to the Gray Garden. Of course, all of this was done with Etihw's permission, who, while looking hesitant, decided to hear the thoughts of the other Gods.

_I wonder if they've received the letters…_ he thought._ I'm sure one or two wouldn't even bother to open it until the day before the gathering._

At the moment, however, the man was using his mirrors to look over every single God. Every time he took a look at the mirror, he always saw a reaction, and they all led to one subject. And for some reason, this was beginning to annoy him, somehow.

_Just when will they drop this subject and go on with their daily lives? Especially her… really now._

Shaking his head with a small chuckle, he decided to leave the room before the images start to trigger a headache.

* * *

In another world, a Devil was left alone to his own thoughts. Even until now, he was sure that everyone still had that pact in their minds. This was what he considered to be perfect timing; everyone would be too busy stating all the opinions they have about it, focusing entirely on Etihw and her Devil. He, on the other hand, could spend all his time thinking on how to possibly ruin everything as much as possible.

_What I want, huh…_

With a smirk, the Devil sat in his chair, spinning one of the many globes in front of him. The others are, in his opinion, out of reach, but here was one world, a world which could easily be spun, manipulated—controlled, even.

But he'll have to do everything on his own if he wanted to achieve anything in this case.

And he'll need patience. A lot of patience.

Yes.

_I know you, or anyone for that matter, won't give me what I want… So… I'll get it for myself._

_Just you wait~_


End file.
